Every so often, a column I write goes nationwide. That wasn’t the case this past Monday when I wrote about the absurd situation Ed Forchion (the NJWEEDMAN, or just plain Weedman, if you like) found himself in.

Nope. It didn’t go national. It went worldwide.

Very (very) long story short: Forchion, who has a rare form of bone cancer, was serving a nine month sentence related to a marijuana charge. And every 20 days, the judge would let him out of jail so he could … smoke marijuana.

I wasn’t the first person to report on this story, but for whatever reason, national press picked it up. Fox News covered it. The Daily Mail in London wrote a huge piece about it. It was everywhere.

Advertisement

And now, some 72 hours later?

Forchion is a free man.

He was released from jail Tuesday for his 10-day marijuana break, told to appear before Judge Charles Delehey Thursday at 11:30 a.m., and when he did …

“My four year nightmare is over,” he told me. “He said I’ve completed enough time. Out of 270 days, I did 140 or so.”

According to Forchion, the public defender filed a motion Tuesday night asking the judge to end the sentence, and the judge apparently agreed. Forchion believes there’s something in the law about him having a disease, etc., but what he really thinks happened is …

“The timing is curious,” Forchion said. “Yeah, of course, someone high enough up saw the news coverage and thought it was ridiculous.”

And that’s because it was ridiculous. But enough about the past. Onward, ho!

What’s next for you, Weedman?

“I’d like to say I’m going to Disneyland, but I went to voter registration to file so I can vote again. A lot of people don’t know that once you’re done with your sentence in New Jersey, you can register to vote again.”

But of course — and as with just about everything the Weedman does — things aren’t as simple as they appear.

“I’m going to file to run against Steve Lonegan in the 3rd district (for Congress),” Forchion said.

The man can’t help himself.

Which is why I asked him the following, a question I’ve been meaning to ask him for years. See, I’ve been writing about Forchion since 1999, and back then, he was an outsider’s outsider. He wasn’t even welcomed by the mainstream legalize movement. But today? Things have changed. Marijuana has been legalized in two states, decriminalized in 16 others, used as medicine in handful more. The landscape has dramatically changed.

But the Weedman hasn’t.

Can he change? Can he put it all behind him and just … move on?

“In the 90s I was treated like a zero, now I’m treated like a hero,” he said. “I haven’t changed. The things I say, the arguments are the same. But the times have changed, the attitudes have changed, the legal landscape has changed.”

So …

“I’m stuck as the Weedman now,” the Weedman said. “On one hand, you can say I’ve ruined my life with this cause, but on the other hand I’m right. I’m on the righteous side. Every year, 20,000 New Jersey residents are arrested on marijuana charges. Over 800,000 Americans are arrested each year because of marijuana.”

So today, Forchion is free. He’s got one more case lingering — he was caught with a pair of joints in Evesham — and he’s still appealing the conviction in the case he just released in. (In both situations, he’s basically seeking to overturn the criminal marijuana statutes in New Jersey. And no, he’s not kidding. And yes, his case seems pretty airtight, quite frankly. Let’s nutshell, shall we? From what I wrote last year: Marijuana is a Schedule I drug in New Jersey. Under state law, a drug is Schedule I if, among other things, it “has no accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.” Well, New Jersey has recognized its medical use, as has nearly half the country. So it seems like it shouldn’t be a Schedule I. And if it’s not Schedule I, it really should be a Schedule IV, which would basically decriminalize/legalize it. Anyway …)

Anyway, Forchion said he plans on spending time both here and in California for the time being, and then figure out a way to make some money off his fame. (He previously had a dispensary in California, but that was busted up by the feds a few years back. Not-so-shockingly, it’s a long story.)

“I’m so far in, I have to get some money out of this,” he said. “I’ve got to go and strike green. I’m not a ‘49er; I’m a 420er.”